Signalling work to affect trains in South Yorkshire over bank holiday weekend

Sheffield stock pics: Sheffield train station

Published:09:07Tuesday 19 April 2016

Train passengers are warned to expect some disruption over the bank holiday weekend when work to upgrade signalling in Sheffield and Rotherham is carried out to provide more reliable train services.

The investment will see the control of signals – the traffic lights of the railway – around Sheffield, Rotherham, Swinton and Mexborough moved to the state-of-the-art Rail Operating Centre in York.

The electrical work will take place over the bank holiday weekend of Sunday, May 1 and Monday, May 2 meaning some services won’t run, with buses replacing trains.

Passengers are urged to check their journey plans before they travel, with all lines set to reopen on Tuesday, May 3.

Rob McIntosh, route managing director for Network Rail said: “Moving the signalling to the Rail Operating Centre is an important step in our £40 billion railway upgrade plan to provide a bigger, better more reliable railway for passengers and means that passenger and freight services become more reliable, while also helping to bring down the cost of running the railway.

“Although there is never a good time to disrupt passengers, we know that fewer people travel over bank holidays and we deliberately avoided doing this project at Christmas to help support Meadowhall and the region’s retail economy.

“I thank passengers for their patience and understanding while this upgrade takes place and assure them that the long term benefit will be worth the few days of inconvenience.”

Teams of railway workers will work around the clock over the bank holiday weekend to carry out the work, which will require the tracks to be free from trains.